Stephen Langridge's new Royal Opera production of Richard Wagner's final opera Parsifal opens on 30 November. Before curtain up, we went into rehearsals for a glimpse of the new production.

Parsifal is based on Wolfram von Eschenbach’s medieval romance Parzifal. It tells the story of an innocent young man who arrives at the Kingdom of the Holy Grail. As well as an inventive new staging designed by Alison Chitty, Covent Garden audiences will be treated to some of Wagner's most gorgeous music including Kundry's Act II seduction of Parsifal and a score inspired in part by church music. The production stars Simon O'Neill, Angela Denoke, René Pape, Gerald Finley and Willard White. All performances will be conducted by Antonio Pappano.

Today marks 100 years since the birth of Benjamin Britten, one of the great composers of the 20th century.

Britten’s compositions span classical music forms, from large-scale symphonic scores to songs and choral works. He first achieved international fame in 1945 with the acclaimed premiere of his opera Peter Grimes. One hundred years after his birth, more operas by Britten are performed worldwide than by any other composer born in the 20th century, and he is widely credited with founding a new English-language opera tradition. He also introduced generations of children to music through such works as Noye’s Fluddeand The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, which is now the focus of an iPad app. 'His music really gets under your skin, which makes him stand out,' says Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano.